Identity theft is frequently committed by people who are close to the victim, as evidenced by a new case. According to Newsday, a man was arrested and charged with stealing his wife’s identity. He wrote checks for $32,000 from her personal bank account, making the checks payable to his business.

The checks bounced after the man cashed them at PLS Check Cashing in Freeport, causing a $32,000 loss to the check cashing agency.

Stephen Takats, 44, of Papoose Lane, was charged with first-degree identity theft, first-degree fraud and third-degree grand larceny in the May 13 check-cashing scheme.

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a new consumer protection rule that will address medical identity theft, which occurs when identity thieves use your personal information to bill insurance companies or get medical services in your name. The FTC’s Red Flag and Address Discrepancy Rule addresses a wide range of financial institutions and creditors and requires such organizations to address identity theft risks and develop a mitigation plan.

Under the new rule, healthcare service providers must identity “red flags” that help them determine when medical identity theft may be occurring, detect when a red flag event takes place, respond appropriately, and update their red flag program regularly to address gaps.

To learn more about this regulation, read the World Privacy Forum report.

Kansas Attorney General Steve Six issued a warning about voter registration scams, according to Kake 10. A number of people have reported receiving unsolicited emails or calls requesting Social Security numbers or credit card numbers to confirm voter registration eligibility.

Here’s how it works: Identity thieves send messages asking for your Social Security number or financial information to register you to vote or to confirm your registration. If you hand over this information, they use it to commit fraud.
Such scams have been reported in many states across the U.S.

It is important to understand that legitimate voter registration drives will either contact you in person or give you a voter registration form that you fill out yourself. They will never ask you to provide your financial information.
If you want to register to vote, do it the safe way. Simply contact the county election office in the county you live or fill out the Voter Registration Form online and return it to your county’s election officer.

The proposed $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial markets has caused quite a bit of controversy in the last few days. Some say that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is asking for too much unregulated cash and power in his effort to stabilize the economy by buying up toxic mortgage-backed securities. He’s also asking Congress to lift the ceiling on the national debt to a record $11.3 trillion from the current $10.6 trillion, which could weaken the U.S. dollar, raise interest rates and act as an additional drag on the economy.

Time Magazine asks some important questions—and answers them—in this article. These questions include:
1. Will it really cost $700 billion?
2. How long will the money last?
3. Is this kind of bailout unprecedented?
4. How will the federal government know what price to pay for the mortgages it buys?
5. What happens if the cost tops $700 billion?
6. Will all of the federal wheeling and dealing come with transparency and oversight?
7. Do the Wall Street executives get to keep their bonuses?

According to InformationWeek, Congress passed a bill this week would make it a felony to use spyware or keystroke loggers to damage ten or more computers.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 5938, an amendment that expands the ability of the federal government to prosecute identity theft crimes and allows victims to obtain restitution for the time and money they spend trying to restore their credit. The legislation, which must be signed by President George W. Bush, allows a fine and up to five years imprisonment for spyware.

This closes a gap in existing identity theft laws that only allowed federal prosecution if the perpetrator used interstate or foreign communications to access a computer, except in cases involving federal government computers or financial institutions. If the President signs the bill into law, federal prosecutors would be able to pursue cases in which the computers of the perpetrator and victim are in the same jurisdiction.